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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831365">no tenemos tiempo</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/runninohhoney/pseuds/runninohhoney'>runninohhoney</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SKAM (Spain)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexuality, Coming Out, Fix-It, Gen, Mention of Off-Screen Character Death, fuck canon kasim baby we're getting you out of there</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:35:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831365</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/runninohhoney/pseuds/runninohhoney</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>whatever she's about to tell him, kasim is not sure he'll be able to take it.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>the edge of her mouth spams in another smile - as if she can't help it. and then- "i am bisexual, too."</i>
</p>
<p>or, kasim hits dounia with a surprising revelation and dounia hits right back at him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kasim Hamed &amp; Dounia Hamed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>no tenemos tiempo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i uhhhhhhh hate what they did with kasim. so i've taken the matter into my hands and written something that i hope is a little more compelling. this is totally based on <a href="https://norwaydumpsterfireremakes.tumblr.com/post/629358990312275968/cn-mention-of-spoilers-ok-real-talk-the-only">this one post i read on tumblr</a>.</p>
<p>i'm not muslim so i'm purposefully avoiding deep conversations of faith, but that's where i hope this will head!</p>
<p>(title is from the song that the show used on that cursed lucas &amp; kasim clip. i thought it was SO funny that the song said "we don't have time" when that couldn't be truer for what they're trying <strike>and failing</strike> to achieve with those two. so i'm gonna flip it and use it with kasim and dounia instead :])</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>it's the second time dounia has trapped him up like this and kasim is already <em>pissed.</em> boiling with anger by the time he headed back home, with arms shaking on his side and his jaw clenched on the way out of the restaurant. the girl had left to the bathroom, and even when a polite excuse left her lips she'd sounded <em>terrified.</em> kasim bounced his leg for ten minutes under the lonely table until he realized she had left.</p>
<p>dounia - she had to understand that things didn't work like this. he could guess the efforts came with good intentions, but the execution was leaving too much to be desired. one more panicking girl put in the spot and he was going to lose it.</p>
<p>scratch that, actually. he was kinda starting to lose it now.</p>
<p>kasim finds her later that night on the living room, her laptop over her folded legs and a satisfied smirk on her lips. he doesn't even want to look at her.</p>
<p>"and?", she says before he can disappear into the kitchen. "how did it go?"</p>
<p>he's glad he's facing the wall, from the way a rush of anger runs down his spine and transforms his expression into something definitely not nice.</p>
<p>just for good measure, he takes two deep breaths before turning around.</p>
<p>"it was fucking shit. the girl left."</p>
<p>dounia's smirk only grows bigger. "heck. poor sanem, she didn't really see it coming."</p>
<p>the start of six horrible sentences are burning the top of kasim's throat, but he takes another breath. "is this <em>funny</em> to you?"</p>
<p>she puts a finger on her chin, as if pretending to think it over. "i thought sanem's reaction was hilarious. too bad i couldn't see yours."</p>
<p>"<em>dounia</em>."</p>
<p>this finally gets her to abandon her staring game with the blinking screen. "what?"</p>
<p>kasim lets out a sigh. "hey. don't do that again."</p>
<p>"okay. i won't, promise."</p>
<p>"that's what you said the last time."</p>
<p>there's a softer smile on the edges of her lips this time. "hey, you know - kasim, dude. i don't do it because i wanna mess with you. it was just, the other day sanem showed to me this picture of this one model she's -i'm telling you- <em>obsessed</em> with. and he looked so much like you, alright? and i recall telling you a couple of things about her, you always found her funny." she shrugs and her fingers resume the fast tapping. "i thought you two would be a good fit!"</p>
<p>"maybe let <em>me</em> decide the next time?", he tries, but dounia is already shaking her head.</p>
<p>"man, you're always hanging out with those white dudes - and white girls too. i want you to have a good one, right? and all of my friends are good. i know i can find a cool girl for you. and you're gonna thank me when you're older, you'll see."</p>
<p>how is he gonna ever tell her? kasim feels something tightening on the pit of his stomach, on his chest. the drinking, the parties. pale and gangly hands running up his neck. she'll never get it. she'll <em>never</em> get it.</p>
<p>he has to start somewhere.</p>
<p>once he gets closer, close enough that he can see the frown in dounia's forehead as he sits down beside her on the couch, her sister finally devotes her full attention to him.</p>
<p>"okay, i got it," she says, sighing. "i won't do it again."</p>
<p>"no, dounia," fuck, his heart has never beaten this fast before.</p>
<p>why is it so hard to say certain words?</p>
<p>dounia's brow only furrows further.</p>
<p>his hands are sweaty on the corrugated fabric of the sofa.</p>
<p>fuck it, <em>just say it!</em></p>
<p>"i'm bisexual."</p>
<p>there it is.</p>
<p>just like someone letting go of the string of a bow, dounia's entire face bounces open in perplexity. her doe eyes, the little circle forming inside of her lips - kasim can no longer take it, so his eyes drop to the ground.</p>
<p>it's the first time he ever says those words out loud. to <em>anyone.</em></p>
<p>very slowly, dounia brings a hand in the air to shut the laptop's screen. a soft thud in the air, followed by a weird noise - no, not a weird noise. a snort. a <em>snort,</em> and dounia cranks her neck to hide her face on her left shoulder.</p>
<p>she's laughing. dounia is <em>laughing.</em></p>
<p>somehow, this is the worst outcome in this situation. because... the disgust, the disappointment, he can handle that. he knows it happens, sees it on strangers' eyes every time he gets wasted enough to shamelessly snake his arms around the exposed neck of another boy. he <em>expects</em> it. but he doesn't expect this: his sister laughing at him, as if this was a joke, as if <em>he</em> was the joke. the repulsion, at least, meant that people understood who he was, accepted it with resignation. this, though? she is laughing at him. she doesn't even <em>believe</em> him.</p>
<p>she's the closest thing that he has to a firm grasp on faith. how is he meant to believe things can only get better from now?</p>
<p>there's... no way of knowing what his face is doing right now. it must be terrible enough that dounia stops dead on her tracks: her face contorts again into a blank, surprised expression. her hands go up immediately.</p>
<p>"eh, no, kasim," she starts before a renewed laughing fit takes over her body again. she actually waves a hand in front of her face, fanning her skin like this is the funniest thing in the world.</p>
<p>he doesn't even know what to say, that's the thing.</p>
<p>"wait, wait no, dude," she says, moving the laptop until it slides off her lap. "hey, hey, kasim, <em>dude</em>," and he's gonna regret this, but he looks at her again. dounia has her hands loosely curved in front of her face, like it will help her to grasp the ideas on her head.</p>
<p>but whatever she's about to tell him, kasim is not sure he'll be able to take it.</p>
<p>the edge of her mouth spams in another smile - as if she can't help it. and then- "i <em>am</em> bisexual, too."</p>
<p>oh.</p>
<p>oh?</p>
<p>he must have been doing something with his mouth, because there's tension releasing there when leans back on the couch. slowly, as if this moment was meant to break at any second.</p>
<p>"you're not fucking with me?", is the first thing that leaves his lips, because of course.</p>
<p>"<em>you're</em> not fucking with me?", dounia fires back, eyebrows high and teasing.</p>
<p>i mean, he gets why she's telling him that, but... how is he even supposed to be making this up? the thoughts of anybody finding out eat him whole when he's alone, unable to parallel the ecstasy of a night out, or in someone else's room. he hasn't been able to think about anything else in <em>months.</em></p>
<p>"i'm not fucking with you," he confirms.</p>
<p>it's a little hard to believe that <em>dounia</em> is... that she likes girls, too. she has never looked paranoid in the way kasim has felt during the last year, and nowadays, whenever she breaks, it's because of their father. but if he things about it, what reason does she have to lie to him now? kasim begins to understand her reaction, as he himself finds his own mouth spasming on a shaky laugh.</p>
<p>"girl, how come i've never caught you? you hid it damn well."</p>
<p>dounia's smile is a little less bright, a weird twitch on the corner of her lips. "nah, dude. i never hid it from you."</p>
<p>well, that's just bullshit. maybe she's not flaunting it, but it would've shown, one way or another. kasim pays enough attention to her, has enough experience on pretending that he feels like he would've known. so he frowns.</p>
<p>he doesn't have a chance to say anything because dounia finally elaborates. "i'm not like... hooking-up with girls, and, you know, partying around."</p>
<p>some of the floor kasim thought was still under his feet crumbles down. "you've... <em>seen</em> me, with guys?", because there's <em>no way,</em> he's always been careful about it, consistent with his alibis-</p>
<p>dounia clicks her tongue, the mask back on her face and smug as ever. "no, but i know you go out with your friends. i just assumed you'd be with girls, around there. but now i know that there's guys there, i guess. yuck. congratulations?"</p>
<p>kasim blinks at her, trying to figure out if he'd feel better if dounia had already known about him, somehow. ask him a week ago and the thought of anyone knowing about this would've sent him straight into panic. it still does, actually. it's just that now he sees dounia wouldn't react badly... and fuck, dounia is <em>also</em> like him, so what's up with that too.</p>
<p>"i should've trust you," he says, a little embarrassed. and maybe he doesn't fully mean it, but he likes how it makes dounia's smile soft and mellow.</p>
<p>"you don't have to tell me that. i know how it is. i didn't know if to trust you, either." her eyes slide around the room, landing on the fourth chair on the dining table. "even after all that you did for us."</p>
<p>and, eh. kasim is not on board with making this moment about his dad. it's been long enough: it still hurts, and that pisses him off. it's true that he's been there for his mom and dounia, but it always felt like duty anyway. it never changed the fact that he never let dounia get too close, never trusted her in the way she did with him, and all that sends a pang of guilt through his chest.</p>
<p>and honestly? he's over with feeling guilty. this is the day where he finally told his sister about being bisexual and everything went as smoothly as it could've gone. for the first time on his life, he feels like he's connecting with her, not because of duty as the only man on the family and not because he wants to maintain a secret. so he does the one thing he's really good at: he changes the subject.</p>
<p>"and do the labass know?"</p>
<p>and there's the smile, back in her face.</p>
<p>"let's see... noor went to high school with me, so she knows. but it's the same with you for them: i'm not hiding, i just don't talk about it on the association. i don't think they know."</p>
<p>kasim can feel himself getting cheeky, and he leans on his side to elbow dounia. "noor knows, huh? what? is she cute?"</p>
<p>dounia doesn't waste any time, and she slaps him on the shoulder. "it's not like that, you dumbass. and don't even try, because i can say the same about any of your friends now, too."</p>
<p>"alright," he says, dropping his face on her shoulder. he feels giddy, playful in a way he hasn't allowed himself to be at home for years. "you can do that, okay. as long as you don't get me in any blind dates anymore."</p>
<p>"i already told you i won't," she says as she leans into his brother's touch. and then, as she bring the laptop back on her folded legs, "you annoying brat."</p>
<p>he nuzzles on her shoulder for a second before pulling back, feeling his face break into a relaxed grin. if he had known that this is how things would've gone... there's no way dounia will ever realize how much this means to him. or maybe she does, and she won't tell him either. and that's fine with him.</p>
<p>"i've kinda, dropped some heavy hints on mom, you know?"</p>
<p>she has <em>what?</em> kasim widens his eyes, waiting for her to continue. dounia raises her eyes from the laptop screen again for a split of a second. "and she seems to be okay with it."</p>
<p>he probably looks dumb, with his mouth hanging open like that, but dounia hums at the screen and doesn't say anything else. his <em>mom</em> could be alright with them too? what even is this day?</p>
<p>"wait, really?"</p>
<p>"yes."</p>
<p>"shit. that's awesome."</p>
<p>"it is. maybe we'll have to space it out, though... that's if you want to tell her, of course."</p>
<p>space it out? <em>come out to his mom?</em> not for the first time today, kasim's head feels about to explode. the possibility of his mom knowing had never been a real one, only something he would daydream about whenever he got selfish enough to wish good things for himself, even after every lie he made her believe. he wouldn't have to lie anymore, then. but was it that worth it? he can't think about it right now. as usual, the thought of sitting down and looking at his mama's eyes is making his hands clench in fear.</p>
<p>"or maybe we can wait a bit?", dounia suggests, her big eyes worried while she scans his face.</p>
<p>"yeah," kasim breathes. it's something he'll have to get used to: dounia knows, and dounia <em>gets it.</em> they're on the same place right now. and what the fuck is his life, honestly.</p>
<p>how do you even end a conversation like this? thanking her feels like too much, no matter how much he feels like he owes her, how easy it feels to be at home now that he's shared his secret and gotten another one back. so maybe he won't thank her, after all. but dounia gets him, and so maybe she's holding back a <em>thank you</em> herself. that's gotta be enough, right? they know exactly how the other feels right now. there's no need for words, and so it feels right for kasim to stand up as dounia's eyes abandon the screen for a second.</p>
<p>maybe the little smile on his face communicates enough, because he sees his relief mirrored on dounia's expression, and she nods once before going back to the screen.</p>
<p>the six steps that kasim takes to go to the kitchen feel brand new, somehow.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>my ending for this is obviously that by the time s4 starts kasim is a regular in the association and he and amira slowly but surely fall for each other, and boom, we have our spanish yousef. but it could also be that he immediately catches on dounia having the biggest crush on amira and pushes her sister to pour her feelings to her - and boom, we have our spanish yousef. you choose!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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